A Treasure So Serene
by Lunar Rei
Summary: Many want her gift. Her gift is valuable on the black market. Her gift is valuable in economic trades. Many pirates wish to obtain her gift...what is her gift?


_A Treasure So Serene_

_~by Lunar Rei_

_Chapter One: Ambush!_

* * *

"Father, tell me again why _I_ have to accompany you on this pointless voyage?"

"Now, Amanda-"

"Cassandra!"

"Cassandra, you know this voyage is important for our country-"

"Do you really call Manetown a country?" I protested skeptically, "It's hardly an island!"

"It is an island, but is run by a different government," Father continued, "So, if we hand-deliver these documents to Port Royal, we can become our own economy as well as appearing on the map."

I sighed, leaning against the side of the ship as I asked; "So, will Manetown become a country or not?"

Father, too sighed as he answered; "I don't know, but in the meantime," He began to walk away towards the bow, "Let's hope good shines on us in this bleak fog."

I turned to face the sea, my father's footsteps echoing in my head eerily. I never fancied voyages in my seventeen years of life.

My name is Cassandra Stone. Me and my father live on an island with has a population of 123 people and is half of the size of Malta, meaning we are very microscopic compared to the rest of the world. The Stone family are known as royalty in Manetown, since our ancestors founded it in 1254. We have no clue how other families immigrated to Manetown in the past centuries, but we are all friendly natives.

Sometime around the 14th Century, we were ambushed by the Jamaicans and were forced to live under their rules and circumstances in exchange for raw materials which would help build our economy. Our ancestor, Bartholomew Stone, could not resist the materials he was offered to help the tiny island bloom, therefore he accepted the offer, and ever since we have been living under the Jamaican Government, until, hopefully, now.

My father contacted the new Governor of Jamaica, a man called Gregory Hale, and negotiated with him – independence for a valuable trinket. The thing is, I have no idea what this 'valuable trinket' is. No one will tell me.

I was drawn back to reality when a heavy splash of water hit my face. My eyes flinched shut as I leaned backwards, turning my head to the side. A dramatic build of manly screams emitted on the deck, causing me to open my eyes. Everything in my sight may well have been a blur since I could hardly see a thing. The crew were panicking as monstrous growls were heard from a nearby ship. Our ship, the Venus Siren, rocked vigorously from side to side, throwing members of the crew overboard. Other crew members shouted 'man overboard' and attempted to save the abandoned allies, but many of the crew were too busy trying to fight off the unwanted visitors who were now boarding Venus Siren.

"Avast!"

Swords were now clanging every millisecond as the crew attempted to fight off the visitors; who I now found to believe were pirates.

"Where's the-"

"Cassandra, come with me!" I heard my father order in a frightful tone. He gained a firm, tight grip on my wrist, dragging me towards the captain's cabin.

"Father, what's wrong?" I asked, studying his facial expression when he turned to face me. He was sweating, making his smooth, brown hair turn wavy and unkempt. His once solid green eyes were now losing the bold colour, forming a translucent grey. His whole body quivered, making my arm shake, too.

His eyes darted my way as he ordered me to hide in the captain's cabin.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"No time to explain," He answered, "Just hide and stop asking questions!" as he locked me in the cabin.

I suddenly began to panic as I let my thoughts sail towards the darkest of waters. Why was I to be secluded? Why not anybody else? Does this have some relevance towards the 'valuable trinket'?

I grabbed a firm hold of the door handle before forcing my hand down in hope to open the door. Either my father had barricaded the door as well as locking it, or I was just weak. I quickly ran my fingers through my brown, horrifyingly oily locks in hope to find a hair pin. I was successful; so I proceeded to open the door, this time using the pin as a lock pick.

I was in too much of a rush as I repeatedly dropped the pin and had to scramble around on the floor in my hands and knees, searching for it in a hysteric manner. The ship continued to rock, throwing the pin across the room just as I got near it.

A loud smashing sound emitted from above me, instinctively making me duck down and cover my head with my arms. The room suddenly grew warmer in temperature; and looking up from my safe position I saw fire.

"Oh, no! Oh, no!" I screamed repeatedly as I hurriedly picked myself up off the floor.

My eyes quickly scanned the room for a long object, and they found a candlestick holder, which wasn't very long in my opinion. Grabbing it, I turned to face the hole in the window of the door, which was the result of the smash, and made the hole bigger, completely wiping the last of the glass. I took a tiny step backwards – making sure not to step into the fire – and bravely jumped through where glass once was, regretfully tearing my dress in the process, leaving me in an underskirt and corset-like vest.

I tumbled across the deck, bruising various parts of my body, before coming to a stop at the feet of an intimidating pirate.

He looked old; his skin crumpled together like creased paper. His eyes were grey, almost hidden beneath bushy, thick, dark eyebrows. A scar decorated the left side of his face, making him smile crookedly, showing rotting, brown teeth which emitted a revolting smell when he spoke, "You can come wi' us, lassie."

Within a second, I was hauled over the pirate's shoulders, touched in inappropriate places in the process.

"Let go of me!" I began to thump the pirate's back with false hope that he would let go of me without a fight. I wasted my time since he refused to let go of me, moving his rough hands over my bum, which was highly unpleasant.

The pirate began to walk towards port, where another pirate stood. This one was more brutal looking; with a huge hat and big exterior. He had a grey beard which looked knotted and tangled in conspicuous clumps.

"This is 'er, cap'n," My carrier said, slapping my bum twice. I was really getting annoyed with that. I wasn't even voluptuous; I was a stick. A horrible, bony stick. "Wha' shall e do wi' her?"

The 'cap'n' studied me carefully. He walked around my carrier to get a clear view of my face. I felt I had no choice but to send a stern look his way, for what good it did; "Chuck her in the brig." He ordered.

"Aye, cap'n!"

I began to protest over the order, swinging my arms and legs manically, hoping that doing this would result in my carrier dropping me. This just made him hold on to me tighter.

"Hold on tight!" He ordered as he grabbed a rope hanging from the mast.

I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut as I felt myself being swung over the sea from one boat to another, then, after hearing a slicing sound from above, I felt loose, as well as forces putting pressure on my body.

To my surprise, I came in contact with water. My eyes opened to small waves moving around me in a fierce manner. My carrier was swimming towards his ship, strangely leaving me in the water, considering he had to 'chuck me in the brig'. My sight became blurry as I looked over at the Venus Siren. She was ablaze, emitting a soft, but violent glow in the eerie fog. Her exterior was completely demolished, leaving broken rafts of wood floating around me.

Before my body decided to drown in the ocean, I decided to attach myself to a drifting plank of wood, freeing myself from a cold, wet blanket. Dead bodies were floating around me, most were our crew, the rare few were pirates.

The flow of water directed me in the south direction, unknown to my knowledge of the Caribbean seas. I was freezing and my clothes were completely soaked through. My hair felt slightly matted and stuck to my head. My whole body shook harshly, making the cold winds attack me harder.

My sight grew hazy as my eyes drooped immensely. My head began to pound vigorously, making my head feel heavy. To ease the pain that rapidly grew, I lay my head flat on the wood, smiling with satisfaction as the pain slowly managed to subside, but I managed to drift off into a calm, but cold sleep.


End file.
